AI Machine Learning Engineering Staff

Lockheed Martin Corporation; Texas; On-site; USD 121,000 - 224,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

Paid time off

Flexible work arrangements

Healthcare benefits

Job summary

Lockheed Martin Corporation is seeking a Staff-level Forward Deployed Engineer for the AI Factory platform in the United States. You will lead the use of the AI Factory platform to solve customer MLOps and GenAI problems, owning discovery, architecture, implementation strategy, deployment, and adoption for high-value AI/ML workflows.

You will work to identify weaknesses in the platform and drive remediation with core engineering teams, ensuring maximum reuse and security.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in software/ platform engineering or MLOps.
• Experience designing, deploying, or operating MLOps pipelines.
• Strong communication with customers and stakeholders.
• Experience with LLM/GenAI workflows and evaluation.
• Lead technical direction through architecture and reviews.

Responsibilities

• Own solution discovery, architecture, deployment strategy, and adoption for AI/ML workflows.
• Identify platform weaknesses and drive remediation with core platform teams.
• Collaborate with customers, platform teams, and program stakeholders.
• Ensure secure, scalable deployment patterns and best practices.

Skills

Staff-level engineer leadership

MLOps experience

GenAI systems

Kubernetes deployment

GPU-backed environments

Customer-facing communication

Solution architecture

Education

B.S. in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

GPU environments

Cloud/on-prem hybrid infra

Job description

Standard Job Description

Serves as a Staff-level Forward Deployed Engineer for AI Factory (an internal AI/ML Ops Platform), leading the use of Lockheed Martin's AI Factory platform to solve customer MLOps and GenAI problems. Owns customer solution discovery, architecture, implementation strategy, deployment, and adoption for high-value AI/ML workflows while ensuring the platform is used effectively, consistently, and with maximum reuse. Uses this deployment work to identify weaknesses in AI Factory's foundational products and platform, such as design flaws, performance gaps, reliability risks, and integration friction, and drives actionable remediation suggestions back to core platform engineering team.

Standard Job Description

Serves as a Staff-level Forward Deployed Engineer for AI Factory (an internal AI/ML Ops Platform), leading the use of Lockheed Martin's AI Factory platform to solve customer MLOps and GenAI problems. Owns customer solution discovery, architecture, implementation strategy, deployment, and adoption for high-value AI/ML workflows while ensuring the platform is used effectively, consistently, and with maximum reuse. Uses this deployment work to identify weaknesses in AI Factory's foundational products and platform, such as design flaws, performance gaps, reliability risks, and integration friction, and drives actionable remediation suggestions back to core platform engineering team.

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of related experience in software engineering, platform engineering, MLOps, ML infrastructure, and/or GenAI systems.
• Experience designing, deploying, or operating MLOps pipelines, model deployment workflows, data and artifact lineage, or GenAI application backends.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work directly with customers, platform teams, and program stakeholders.
• Experience with LLM and GenAI systems, evaluation workflows, prompt or context engineering, or agentic application patterns.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical direction for other engineers through architecture, decomposition, code review, or deployment standards.
• Hands-on familiarity with Kubernetes-based deployment patterns, GPU-backed environments, and secure software delivery practices.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a Secret or Top Secret clearance.

Desired Skills

• B.S. (or higher) in Computer Science, Electrical / Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or related field.
• Experience with enterprise AI/ML platforms such as Amazon SageMaker, Databricks Mosaic AI, Google Cloud Vertex AI / Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, Microsoft Foundry, Domino Data Lab, Dataiku, IBM watsonx, or DataRobot.
• Familiarity with Python and at least one backend or systems language
• Demonstrated experience delivering production AI/ML systems or platform capabilities with ambiguous requirements and multiple stakeholders.
• Experience working across cloud and on-prem GPU environments.
• Ability to communicate technical tradeoffs clearly to senior stakeholders while maintaining delivery momentum across customer and internal teams.

Pay Information

GeoZone Definition:

GeoZones are geographic groupings created by Lockheed Martin to align compensation ranges with regional labor markets and cost-of-labor differences across the United States. Locations are assigned a Geo Zone based on the primary work location of the role.

• Full-time salary range (GEOZONE 1): $150800.00 - $280000.00
  • Includes metropolitan areas such as Sunnyvale CA; Pal Alto, CA; New York City metropolitan area; Newark, New Jersey; etc.
• Full-time salary range (GEOZONE 2): $135700.00 - $251900.00
  • Includes metropolitan areas such as Denver, CO; King of Prussia, PA; Stratford, CT; Moorestown, NJ; etc.
• Full-time salary range (GEOZONE 3): $120600.00 - $224000.00
  • Includes metropolitan areas such as Dallas–Fort Worth, TX; Orlando, FL; Grand Prairie, TX; Marietta, GA; etc.
• Full-time salary range (GEOZONE 4): $108600.00 - $201600.00
  • Includes metropolitan areas such as Camden, AR; Lexington, KY; Lufkin, TX; etc.

At Lockheed Martin, we know mission success starts with taking care of our people. Our Total Rewards program is designed to attract top talent, support your well-being, and help you grow—both professionally and personally.

The salary range for this position is as listed on the requisition. Please note that the salary information listed is a general guideline only.

Lockheed Martin considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/ training, key skills as well as market(work location) and business considerations when extending an offer.

Benefits offered:

Medical, Dental, Vision, Flexible work arrangements and schedules (e.g., 4x10), 401(k) match, Paid time off, Holidays, Parental Leave, EAP, Flexible Spending Accounts, Education Assistance, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability.

• Annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs may be offered depending on the position. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and can vary from year to year and are tied to a range of performance metrics.
• For (Washington state applicants only) Non-represented full-time employees: accrue at least 10 hours per month of Paid Time Off (PTO) to be used for incidental absences and other reasons; receive at least 90 hours for holidays. Represented full time employees accrue 6.67 hours of Vacation per month; accrue up to 52 hours of sick leave annually; receive at least 96 hours for holidays. PTO, Vacation, sick leave, and holiday hours are prorated based on start date during the calendar year.